The “most important startup” to come to Melbourne: WeWork opens its doors

Global co-working giant WeWork officially opened the doors of its Melbourne offices this morning, as Victorian Minister for Innovation Phillip Dalidakis heralded it as “the most important startup” that has come to the city.

WeWork’s Sydney offices opened in March earlier this year, with co-founder Miguel McKelvey telling StartupSmart at the time Sydney was always on the list for the $20 billion company.

“We’re not an accelerator, we’re not an incubator … we’re more just creating an open environment. The community is stronger the larger it is,” McKelvey said.

Those sentiments were echoed today by WeWork’s managing director in Australia Balder Tol, who said ever since the company began its expansion into Australia, there was a “big red pin” on Melbourne. The first WeWork site in Melbourne is located on Elizabeth Street in the CBD.

“For us as a global community, it significantly increases our value proposition for our members to have offices in Melbourne and Sydney,” Tol told StartupSmart.